MBA: Loan Demand Drops to Lowest Level in Years

MBA: Loan Demand Drops to Lowest Level in Years

Daily Real Estate News |
Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Mortgage applications -- reflecting both refinancing and home purchase demand -- dropped to its lowest level in “more than a dozen years” as interest rates ticked up, says Mike Fratantoni, the vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In the latest week ending Dec. 13, mortgage applications fell 5.5 percent, according to the MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity. The MBA index has dropped for six of the past seven weeks.

Broken out, applications for refinancings dropped 4.3 percent during the week, while loan applications for home purchases -- a gauge for future home sales -- fell 6.1 percent.

Fixed-rate 30-year mortgages averaged 4.62 percent during the week, up 1 basis point from 4.61 percent the week prior, the MBA reports.